Watercraft ramp improvements

ABSTRACT

The watercraft ramp has a watercraft-supporting assembly with a water end and a shore end. It is formed of a laterally spaced pair of U-shaped rails equipped with hull-supporting roller wheels mounted in the U-shape. A transverse footprint brace is mounted under the rails at the water end with minimum elevation at the water end, and a transverse footprint stabilizer bar of elevated character is mounted under the rails at the shore end. A winch support beam is cantilevered out beyond the shore end of the rails in an angular relationship closer to parallel than perpendicular to the rails. The components in unassembled condition can be shipped and then assembled by a customer-user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.10/113,961, filed Mar. 29, 2002, which claims the benefit of provisionalapplication Serial No. 60/281,190, filed Apr. 3, 2001.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to a watercraft ramp and more particularlyto a shoreline dock in the nature of a ramp of relatively short lengthcompared to the watercraft capable of being docked on it and ofrelatively low elevation capable of receiving the bow end of awatercraft while the watercraft is buoyantly floating.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Personal watercraft of the type for people to ride in a manneranalogous to riding a motorcycle have become exceedingly popular. Theynot only give the person or persons riding the watercraft the supremethrill of speed and power, but also can be the workhorse for towingwater skiers. The appeal of personal watercraft is so strong that peoplewill ride them on impulse or at the spur of the moment. Between periodsof use, however, the personal watercraft should be stored out of thewater with as little fuss as possible and launched at will and withgreat ease for the unlimited fun of using the watercraft.

[0004] Heretofore insofar as is known, non-lift ramps for out-of-thewater docking and storage of watercraft have suffered from such problemsas (i) non-portability caused by a permanent post or concrete anchoring,or (ii) an entry or water end that defies convenient watercraft bowmovement onto the ramp while the watercraft itself is still buoyantlysupported in the water, or (iii) an entry or water end that requireselevation of the bow with tilting of the watercraft beyond a comfortablebuoyancy support in order to initiate movement onto the ramp, or (iv) anentry or water end that always requires a considerable length of ramp toextend out into and under the water in order to facilitate movement ofthe watercraft onto the ramp using the natural buoyancy of the craft, or(v) a shore or land end that suffers from relatively easy torsionaltwists or is unnecessarily heavy or is otherwise not user friendly, or(vi) a shore or land end that is considerably longer than actuallyneeded for watercraft support and that fails to utilize a winch mountingin a way to reduce such length.

[0005] In short, the problem with known docking ramps is that they lacksimple and uncomplicated and lazy or minimal-physical-effort featuresfor fast and effective personal watercraft use, including easyportability and easy docking, storage, and launching at will.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The new watercraft docking and launching ramp of this inventionis astonishingly simple and strong and yet easily portable. It has anextremely low profile compared to known ramps. The water end of the rampis designed to rest in earth supported condition on the water side of ashoreline, and the shore end or opposite end of the ramp is designed torest on dry land of a shore up from the shore line.

[0007] The watercraft-supporting assembly of the ramp comprises a pairof rails braced in parallel spaced relationship and equipped withhull-supporting roller wheels. Ideally, the rails are U-shaped and haveupstanding side walls on each side of a floor; and the roller wheels aremounted within the U-shape and extend above it. The ramp (and inparticular the rails of it) is generally of relatively short length incomparison to the length of watercraft capable of being docked orreceived on it.

[0008] At the water end is a support assembly for the rails that causesminimal elevation for the water end. This support assembly has atransverse footprint brace extending between the rails at a locationproximate to the water end so as to support the rails and maintain theirspaced relationship at the water end. A keel roller may be mounted at acentral location on the footprint brace.

[0009] The shore end support assembly also is such as to cause minimalelevation for the shore end of the ramp. This assembly has a transversefootprint stabilizer bar of a transverse length greater than thedistance between the rails of the watercraft-supporting assembly. Therails at the shore end can be and desirably are mounted to the footprintstabilizer bar through stub elevational means such as stub pillars orstub blocks so as to obviate irregular or rocky shore problems.

[0010] A loading assembly has a winch support beam that is mounted tothe stabilizer bar in such a way as to upwardly cantilever in an outwarddirection from (i.e., beyond) the shore end of the rails at an anglethat is more toward being parallel to the rails than perpendicular tothe rails. Ideally, the winch support beam is braced against lateral ortorsional movement by a pair of brace arms mounted in opposingrelationship to the winch support beam and then fanning out therefrom asthey extend over the stabilizer bar to lateral mounting locations on thewatercraft-supporting assembly.

[0011] Many details of the aforenoted features contribute to the overallstrength and lightness in weight and portability of the ramp. To beespecially noted, however, is that, while the several assemblies asafore-recited may be permanently mounted together, by far the preferredapproach is to employ removable mounting as by bolting the several partsof the ramp together. A significant advantage of the new teaching isthat the components or parts forming the ramp assemblies of theinvention can be conveniently packaged, economically handled, andeconomically and quickly shipped to any destination for final assemblyand use.

[0012] Still other benefits and advantages for the various features ofthe invention will be evident as this description proceeds.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an overall ramp of theinvention in assembled condition;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the shore end of theramp (with roller wheels omitted) taken at a different angle from thatof the perspective view in FIG. 1;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1and particularly illustrates the U-shape for the rail and the mountingof the roller wheels;

[0016]FIG. 4 is a schematic view, partially broken away, of thefootprint brace at the water end for the ramp (with the keel rolleromitted);

[0017]FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the transverse footprintstabilizer bar with its stub blocks topped with mounting plates forbolted mounting to the shore end of the rails;

[0018]FIG. 6 is a side view of a winch-supporting beam for the ramp;

[0019]FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of brace arms for thewinch-supporting beam;

[0020]FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a transverse brace(i.e., a cross brace) having perpendicularly oriented flanges.

[0021]FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a modified form of atransverse footprint brace for the water end of the ramp;

[0022]FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of a modified form for theshore end support assembly, that is, the transverse footprint stabilizerbar and its stub elevations topped with mounting plates for bolting theassembly to the shore end of the rails;

[0023]FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a modified form for thewinch support beam for the ramp;

[0024]FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of the modified winchsupport beam and other elements at the shore end, particularlyillustrating the bracing for the winch support beam (and omitting ashowing of wheels on the rails);

[0025]FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a special cross brace(extending transversely) similar to the brace of FIG. 8, but includingextra bolt holes to vary the lateral spacing of rails mounted on it;

[0026]FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-section of a rail of the ramp,particularly illustrating a varied form for the U shape for the rail anda roller wheel of essentially ball shape, that is, with its greatestwheel circumference in an imaginary plane perpendicular to its axis andlocated midway between its axial ends—and with the wheel circumferencegradually reducing as the plane of measurement is moved toward axialends for the wheel;

[0027]FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective and exploded view illustratinghow two rail sections may be joined using a connecting bracket to uniteabutting ends of the two rail sections so as to form especially longrails for the invention; this figure also includes a cross support bracefor a location proximate to or near the juncture of the rail sectionsconnected by a connector bracket;

[0028]FIG. 16 is a schematic plane view of an open carton illustratingthe packaging of components of the ramp in unassembled condition withina shipping box or container of a size acceptable to well-known parcelshipping organizations;

[0029]FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of components of the shippingbox of FIG. 16, taken along the line 17-17 of FIG. 16; and

[0030]FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of components of the shippingbox of FIG. 16, taken along lines 18-18 of FIG. 16.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] Although the invention may take specific forms varying to someextent from the forms illustrated in the drawings, the most idealpractice of the invention will fairly closely follow the detailsvariously illustrated in the drawings.

[0032] For convenience and clarity in describing significant features ofthe invention, each major assembly making up the total dock or rampteaching of the invention will be especially emphasized.

[0033] The first assembly of the ideal portable watercraft drydockingand launching ramp is a watercraft-supporting assembly 10 having what iscalled a water end 12 and a shore end 14 (see FIG. 1).

[0034] The watercraft-supporting assembly has a pair of rails 16 and 18.Hull-supporting wheels 20 are mounted on the rails, and for convenienceof discussing the details of the rails as well as the mounting of thewheels on the rails, reference will be made particularly to FIGS. 1 and3. The rails 16 and 18 are most ideally formed by extrusion and have aU-shape. Aluminum is an excellent metal to use in forming the railsalthough other metals may optionally be used. It is even conceivablethat plastic materials may have the necessary characteristics for rails.Rails of U-shaped cross-section have upstanding side walls 24 and 26 oneach side of a floor or floor wall 30. The side walls 24 and 26 of theU-shape are higher above their juncture to the internal surface of thefloor 30 than the width between the side walls (or width of the floorthat extends between the side walls).

[0035] Hull-supporting roller wheels 20 have a greater diameter than theheight of the side walls 24, 26 of the rails. The wheels 20 arerotatably mounted on axles 22 extending between the side walls 24, 26 ofthe rails. Actually, the axles 22 are ideally located near the upperedge of the side walls of the rails and are ideally located in a band25, 27 of extra thickness (or a band of built-up material) as areinforcement at the upper portion of the side walls. The build-up 25and 26 of material at the upper edge of the side walls 24 and 26 has twofunctions: One is to provide a very secure and strong anchoring for theaxles 22 of the wheels 20, and the other is to enhance the structuralstrength of the rails so that they are highly resistant to being bentdownwardly at any location along their length.

[0036] Optionally, the axles 22 for the hull-supporting roller wheels 20may be formed by using shafts equipped with a head 32 and a friction cap34 at the opposite end, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Friction capped axlesare faster to install than those employing threaded bolts, and frictioncaps are more economical; but bolts and nuts are somewhat more reliablewithout suffering damage under ramp use conditions and thus arepreferred for use as axles. (Of course, other fastening approaches andaxle styles may be employed without deviating from the inventiveconcepts of the invention.)

[0037] The rails 16 and 18 are of equal length (or substantially so) andare not only laterally spaced apart but extend in a parallelrelationship between the water end and shore end for the rails. Thelateral spacing of the rails preferably should be at least about 10 or12 inches on center. Put another way, the lateral space between railsshould always be at least about 8 or 9 inches and may be as great as upto about 2 feet. (The spacing distance can vary depending on the shapeof the hull of watercraft to be supported by the ramp.) The length ofthe rails should be at least about 7 feet and preferably is not anylonger, or is less, than about 9 feet for easy packaging for shipping.Longer rails up to about 14 or even more feet can be useful undercertain conditions, especially where the lake floor (i.e., earth or landmass) slopes ever so slightly to greater and greater depth underwater.As the distance from the shore line increases, longer rails are thenneeded in order to extend the rails of the ramp to greater distancesinto water from the shore line so as to be able to dock watercraft onthe ramp while retaining buoyancy for the watercraft. (As used herein,“watercraft” means a craft having a hull for floating in water. Thus“watercraft” is a term that includes boats as well as personalwatercraft.)

[0038] For most shore areas and most personal watercraft, the rails forramps of the invention need not be greater than about 8 or 9 feet andmay be as short as about 7 feet (but not really significantly shorterthan 7 feet). The best lighter weight material should be employed forthe ramp in order to get reduction for the total weight of the completeramp structure; and reduction of weight means savings in shipping aswell as ease of handling and movement of the ramp structure to locationsof choice along a shoreline.

[0039] The roller wheels 20 may vary in diameter but preferably have adiameter greater than the height of the side walls of the rails. Thesewheels are rotatably mounted on axles extending between the side railsand the wheels themselves extend within the U-shape of the side rails.The wheels are in spaced relationship along the length of the rails andthat spaced relationship ideally may be about 16 inches on center. Thelengthwise spacing should be at least about 12 inches, and generally nomore than about 20 inches along the rails. The wheels 20 must extendabove the opening of the U-shape of the rails, and preferably theextension of wheels 20 above the opening of the U-shape of the railswill be at least about one-fourth of the diameter of the wheels. Thus,although the wheels may have a diameter barely greater than the heightof the side walls of the rails above the internal floor of the rails,the preferred projection of the wheels above the opening of the U-shapein order to satisfy the criteria of easily protecting watercraft hullsfrom scraping damage should be at least about one-fourth the diameter ofthe wheel. Wheels having a diameter barely above the height of the sidewalls of the U-shape may project above the wide walls little more thanabout one-fourth the height of the rail side walls. A lesser projectionmay sometimes be useful but may introduce some risk of hull damage by arail. Since the style of wheels can vary, and some styles may approachthe nature of a ball-shaped wheel (e.g., see FIG. 14), the term diameteras here discussed should be recognized as referring to the part of awheel exhibiting the maximum or greatest diameter.

[0040] A further characteristic at the water end of each side rail isthat the circumference of the water end wheels should preferably projectoutward beyond the water end of the rails in order to save against hulldamage to watercraft that might otherwise abut against the very end ofthe rails at the water end. A one-fourth diameter projection is quitesufficient. Thus, both a circumference projection outward from the waterend of the rails as well as the upward projection above the rails isuseful for the wheels 20 at the water end 12.

[0041] The U-shaped rails or channels 16, 18 generally need not have awidth between side walls or a floor width (whether the floor is flat orcurved or otherwise) greater than 3 inches, and generally the width neednot be greater than 2 inches. That width preferably can be somewhat lessbut not greatly less than about 1.5 inches (with a lower limit ofminimum width of about 1 inch). The height of the side walls for theU-shape for the rails should exceed about 2 inches above the internalsurface of the floor at the connection of the side rail to the floor,and generally the height of the side walls will be in excess of 2.5inches above the connection of the side wall to the internal surface ofthe floor and even as great as 3 inches above the connection of the sidewall to the interior surface of the floor. Of course, U-shaped channelsoutside the measurements specified can be employed, although those withside walls having a height less than 2 inches are not likely to possessthe necessary strength for support of watercraft without bending(especially if foundational support for the rails themselves is limitedto the water and the shore ends).

[0042] The water end support assembly for the new docking ramp has arather unique character. First of all, it is a transverse footprintstructure 40 that not only serves as a support for the water end of therails but also as a bracing and thus is properly called a transversefootprint brace 40. The footprint brace is adapted to rest on the lakefloor under the water either immediately adjacent to, or out in thewater from, the shoreline. A very useful footprint brace has anupstanding U-shape in cross-section (see FIG. 4), with upstanding sidewalls 42, 43 on each side of a floor 44. For the footprint brace, thebest approach is to employ upstanding side walls that are slightly lowerin height than the width between the upstanding side walls (or width offloor 44).

[0043] The transverse footprint brace 40 need not be greater in itstransverse length than the distance between the external (i.e., outer)edges of the rails, but a longer length, while undesirable, ispermissible, even a length projecting laterally outward from each siderail. Ideally, the footprint brace does not have any significanttransverse length greater than the distance between the external edgesof the rails. This permits significant saving of material, especiallywhen it is realized that the footprint brace combines the bracingfunction with the footprint function. A variety of different shapes maybe employed for the footprint brace, but the U-shape discussed is veryuseful and effective. Still further, for convenience of solid attachmentas by bolting to the water end of the rails 16 and 18, plate members 46and 47 may be welded across the top of the U-shaped footprint brace ateach end (or at locations such that the holes 41 for bolting against theunderside of the rails are in proper registration or alignment). Topplates 46 and 47 are ideally welded to the upstanding edges of the sidewalls of the U-shaped footprint brace 40.

[0044] Significantly, the rails 16 and 18 most ideally will have floorswith a flat internal and external surface for easy bolting assembly ofcomponents (e.g., footprint brace 40, cross braces 80, etc.) asdiscussed herein.

[0045] Ideally, the distance between the underside of the rails 16 and18 and the underside of the footprint brace 40 is less than the distancebetween the underside of the rails 16 and 18 and the top of thehull-supporting wheels 20 at the water end. This contributes fabulouslyto an extremely low profile of support for the water end of thewatercraft-supporting assembly of the docking ramp.

[0046] An optional but preferred feature for the transverse footprintbrace 40 is that of a keel roller structure. For example, a bracket orbrackets 48 and 49 may be anchored as by welding or the like within theU-shape of the footprint brace at a central location between its ends(i.e., between the rails), and a keel roller 36 may be mounted on ashaft extending through holes 45 of a bracket formed of parts 48 and 49.The bracket 48, 49 and the holes 45 for the axle or shaft of the keelroller should be so oriented that the keel roller properly functions asa keel protector to save the keel of watercraft from hitting the shoreend cross member formed by the footprint brace. To some extent, this ismost ideally accomplished by positioning the holes 45 for the keelroller shaft above the top surface of the upstanding side walls of theillustrated footprint brace.

[0047] The shore end of the rails is supported by a shore end supportassembly, which is also characterized by having a footprint feature. Theshore end support assembly has a transverse footprint stabilizer bar ofa transverse length greater than the distance between the rails 16 and18. The transverse length should exceed two feet but be not more thanfour feet. This stabilizer bar is adapted to rest on earth along theshore. A useful stabilizer bar 50 is one of rectangular cross-sectionwith a hollow interior. Holes 51 (see FIG. 5) extend through the hollowrectangular bar and are available for bolt mounting of the base end of abeam for a winch. In FIG. 5, blocks 52 and 54 are in a spacedrelationship matching that for the rails 16 and 18 of FIG. 1, and thesestub blocks 52 and 54 are suitably welded to the stabilizer bar 50. Thereason for blocks 52 and 54 is simply to provide a slight elevation butnothing of any great significance at the shore end—just in case thegrading of the slope from the water line itself upward and away from thewater line may be significantly rough. The slight elevation alsoprovides room for the brace arms 70 and 71 for the stabilizer bar topass over the stabilizer bar on their way to mounting locations on thewatercraft-supporting assembly. Absolutely minimal elevation is neededat the land or shore end, and thus the stub elevational means 52 and 54need provide no more elevation than a few inches such as from 2 to 3inches up to 4 or 5 or 6 inches. Of course, greater elevations arepermissible, but not at all desired. Capping each stub elevational means52 and 54 are plate members 56 and 58 respectively, each with holes 57and 59 respectively for bolt attachment to the underside of the shoreend of the rails 16 and 18.

[0048] The result is a very modest elevation for the shore end of theramp. Interestingly, the distance between the upper end of the cappedelevational blocks 52 and 54 and the bottom of the stabilizer bar shouldnot exceed about 1 foot, although larger distances or elevations maysometimes be used, but without significant benefit. Ideally, thedistance between the capped elevational blocks 52, 54 and the bottom ofthe stabilizer bar may be as low as about 6 inches or so.

[0049] A preferred feature of the shore end support assembly is that itshould be removably mounted to the underside of the rails at a locationproximate to the shore end of the rails so as to support the rails andmaintain their spaced relationship at the shore end.

[0050] The loading assembly for docking watercraft onto the rampsuitably has a winch support beam 60 capable of being mounted andsupported in a cantilevered outward direction from the shore end of therails. The cantilevered direction from the shore end of the rails is inan angular relationship to the length of the rails, but that angularrelationship to the length of the rails is closer to being parallel withthe length of the rails than perpendicular to that length. Thus, theangular relationship to the length of the rails for the cantileveredoutward direction is less than 45 degrees, and preferably less than 35degrees (or even less than 30 degrees) from a line representing acontinuation of the length of the rails. In fact, an ideal angularrelationship to the rails is about 20 degrees up from a linerepresenting a continuation of the length of the rails. The best angularrelationship is astonishingly low as compared to what appears to be pastcommon practice.

[0051] The winch support beam 60 is removably mounted to the stabilizerbar 50 by means of a lateral or transverse plate 62 welded across thebase or foot end of the beam 60. The plate 62 is welded to the foot endand is provided with a bolt mounting hole 63 on each laterallyprojecting portion of plate 62. Only one laterally projecting portion 62with bolt hole 63 is shown in FIG. 6; the other laterally projectingportion and the bolt hole in it are not visible in the view of FIG. 6.The bolt mounting holes 63 are for passing bolts therethrough andthrough holes 51 of the stabilizer bar 50 when the winch beam 60 ismounted on the stabilizer bar 50. The winch 64 with winch handle 67 iscarried on or mounted to a the winch base plate 66 which is in turnmounted or welded to the winch end or outer end of the beam 60.

[0052] The length of the winch mounting beam 60 should be kept withinbounds and preferably will not exceed about 4 feet, with a better lengthbeing around 3 or 3.5 feet, and always over 2 feet.

[0053] The cantilevering of the winch support beam permits utilizationof the entire length of the rails for full support. The cantilever forthe winch support beam and its low angle relationship to the railspermits the watercraft-supporting assembly to be relatively short (e.g.,8 feet or so) and still support watercraft having hulls of equal or evengreater length, with the bow end extending out beyond the shore end ofthe rails and over at least one-half (even at least three-fourths) thelength of the winch support beam without any interference by the winchsupport beam.

[0054] Bracing the winch support beam 60 against lateral movement and ina manner to avoid conflict between other bracing and support assembliesfor the ramp led to the formation of angle brace arms 70 and 71; seeFIG. 7. Brace arms 70 and 71 are formed of perpendicularly orientedflanges 72 and 73 (e.g., an angle iron shape). At one end they areequipped with angled mounting plates 74 and 75 containing holes 76 and77 for bolt mounting to sides of the beam 60 through mounting hole 68that extends through beam 60. Braces 70 and 71 extend angularly frombeam 60 (i.e., they fan out) in a direction over the stabilizer bar 50toward lateral locations on the watercraft-supporting assembly such as,for example, on rails 16 and 18 where they are mounted to the undersideof the rails. (As aforenoted, the slight elevation for the shore end ofthe rails as provided by the stub blocks of the stabilizer bar 50permits brace arms 70 and 71 to easily pass over the stabilizer bar 50on their way to a mounting on the watercraft-supporting assembly.) Boltholes 78 and 79 are provided for mounting of the angular brace arms 70and 71 to the underside of rails 16 and 18. Their location of boltmounting to the underside of the rails 16 and 18 is inward from theshore end of the rails (i.e., at a location on the rails that is closerto the water end than the mounting for the stabilizer bar 50 to theshore end of the rails). Other lateral locations on thewatercraft-supporting assembly for mounting brace arms 70 and 71 maycomprise a cross brace between rails, especially the first cross bracelocated inward from the stabilizer bar 50 at the shore end terminus ofthe watercraft-supporting assembly.

[0055] To maintain stability and brace the rails 16 and 18 at a fixeddistance from each other, it is suitable to employ any number of crossbraces of angle iron shape such as cross brace 80, and bolt the crossbrace to the rails 16 and 18 through bolt holes such as at 82 and 84.

[0056] It is particularly interesting to note that the rails at theshore end are maintained in spaced relationship by the shore end supportassembly for the rails, namely the transverse footprint stabilizer barand its stub blocks. The arrangement is exceedingly effective to preventtorsional shifts of the rails as a watercraft is loaded on the rampusing the loading mechanism of a winch, whether hand powered orelectrically powered, etc. The cantilevered winch support beam mountedto the footprint stabilizer bar and braced to the rails is renderedexceedingly resistant against torquing movements during winch action andin fact contributes to stability for the entire assembly as winchingtakes place.

[0057] The new ramp has an exceedingly low profile for use yet has aneffective arrangement of elements that permits docking of a watercraftwithout fuss and with relative ease. The watercraft will roll smoothlydown the ramp into the water. The design allows for easy keel centeringof a watercraft during docking while the watercraft is buoyantlyfloating. The extremely low profile reduces what might be called thefulcrum effect and reduces the strength needed to dock the watercraft.By distributing the stress of the watercraft on the ramp to side railsor beams, great stability is achieved for the docking and launchingoperations. An extremely significant feature is that of the simplestructure for the ramp and yet an exceedingly effective bracing againsttorsional forces.

[0058] Variations of structural features of the invention are quitepossible without departing from the inventive concepts behind theinvention; and some illustrative variations will now be described.

[0059] The transverse footprint brace for the water end may be designedfor casting, in which event it may have a structure 140 such asillustrated in FIG. 9. Avoidance of hollow conduits or the like isdesirable for casting purposes and thus the design of a footprint basefor the water end may have outwardly extending flanges or feet 144 a and144 b for resting on the earth under water, with the flange feet merginginto elevational side walls 142 and 143. A top platform or plate 146 and147 at each end has holes in it for assembly or mounting to theunderside of rails. The inner set of holes 141 at each end is used forbolt or equivalent mounting to rails where the spacing desired betweenthe rails is less than the spacing effected when the outer set of holes141 a is used for bolting to the rails. (A hole through a rail floor atthe water end can be used for either inner or outer mounting to thefootprint brace 140.) The central portion of the footprint brace 140carrys a bracket or brackets 148 and 149 with holes 145 for mounting theaxle of a keel roller and holding the keel roller above a floor 144between the side walls 142 and 143 as they extend between the brackets148 and 149.

[0060]FIG. 10 illustrates a suitable modified style for a transversefootprint stabilizer bar 150 for the shore end. It has stub elevationalmeans 152, 154 (e.g., stub columns or pillars or blocks) and top flangeplates 156, 158 for mounting of the bar 150 under the rails at orproximate to the shore end. Here the formation of the part unites thefeatures of the entire stabilizer bar into a unitary whole presenting anelongated base 150 a, stub pillars 152, 154 supported by flyingbuttresses 152 a and 154 a at each end and having a connecting side wall150 b on which a winch support beam can be mounted at holes 151. Theside wall 150 b extends between the elevational means 152, 154 and isbraced by buttress 150 c. At the top of the stub elevational means arethe appropriate mounting plates 156, 158 carrying inner holes 157, 159and outer holes 157 a and 159 a that permit a variation of the spacingbetween the rails as the rails are mounted to the top of the stubelevational means. The inner set of holes 157, 159 will be used forminimal spacing for the rails, whereas the outer set 157 a, 159 a willbe used for maximum spacing for the rails. The stub elevational means(e.g., stub pillars) may be hollowed out from the back side for castingpurposes.

[0061] A sturdy style for a winch support beam 160 is illustrated inFIG. 11 (and also shown in FIG. 12). An I-beam 160 a is used to formthis winch support beam. The mounting plate 162 at the lower end hasbolt holes 163 for mounting or fastening the winch support beam to thestabilizer bar at the shore end, whether the stabilizer bar is one asillustrated in FIG. 5 or in FIG. 10 or some other or further form forit. Mounting plate 166 at the outer end of the winch support beam 160 isfor receiving a winch (generally by adding bolt holes for the purposebut optionally by any suitable fastening system). A locking loop 161 onthe winch support beam can be used to lock a watercraft to the ramp toinhibit theft. A mounting place or ear 168 with a bolt hole forfastening a pair of bracing arms on opposite sides of the support beamis provided. As illustrated, the I-beam for the winch support beam isshown to have upper and lower flanges, but the possibility exists for a90-degree shift (e.g., a lateral positioning) of such flanges, in whichcase the laterally spaced flanges themselves may be equipped with a holeor holes for bolt mounting of bracing arms for the winch support beam.

[0062]FIG. 12 shows the winch support beam of FIG. 11 mounted by itsmounting plate 162 to a transverse footprint stabilizer bar 150 at theshore end of a watercraft-supporting assembly formed of rails 16 and 18.Wheels 20 are not present in FIG. 12. To the outer end of the winchsupport beam 160 is mounted a winch 164 (including a winch strap and ahook for latching onto the tow ring at the bow of a watercraft). Thewinch is mounted on a mounting base plate 166, and this mounting ispreferably by bolts or other fasteners so that the winch is removablymounted on the beam 160. Indeed, the handle 167 of the winch is alsopreferably removably mounted on it. At the ear 168 (and in fact onopposite sides of it) is mounted a pair of brace arms 70, 71 for thewinch support beam. They are mounted in opposing relationship to thewinch support beam (at its ear 168). From that mounting they fan outangularly as they extend over the stabilizer bar 150 to lateral mountinglocations on the watercraft-supporting assembly. The lateral locationsmay be on the underside of the rails (without connection to a crossbrace 180), but preferably are on a cross brace 180, as illustrated inFIG. 12.

[0063] Please note that the cross brace 180 of angle iron shape asillustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13 is the same as the cross brace 80illustrated in FIG. 8, except that cross brace 180 is longer and hasinner mounting holes 182, 184 for bolting to the underside of the floorof rails to space the rails at a shorter spacing distance and outermounting holes 183, 185 for spacing the rails apart at a greaterdistance. The inner end of the bracing arms 70, 71 is ideally mounted tothe cross brace 180 in FIG. 12 at its inner mounting holes 182 and 184,regardless of whether rails are also bolt mounted there or on outermounting holes 183, 185. It is highly preferred to mount the inner endsof the bracing arms 70, 71 for the winch support beam consistently atthe inner lateral holes 182, 184 in the cross brace 180. This permits aconsistent fanning angle for bracing arms 70, 71. The inner ends of thebracing arms may abut against the depending flange of the angled braceflanges that form the cross brace 180. It is, of course, optional, tovary the inner end mounting of the bracing arms 70, 71 for the winchsupport beam; but in all instances, the inner ends will be mounted tolateral mounting locations on the watercraft-supporting assembly.Interestingly, the brace arms 70 and 71, as illustrated in FIG. 12,extend almost in a horizontal plane to the cross brace 180 mounting fromear mounting 168.

[0064] Hull-supporting roller wheels for the ramp may take a variety offorms. In FIG. 13 is illustrated a form that is essentially in thenature of a ball, although the figure illustrates a slightly flattenedball 120 (e.g., compressed in the axial direction). The maximumcircumference for the roller wheel of FIG. 13 is in a planeperpendicular to the axis of rotation and approximately midway betweenthe axial ends or sides of the wheel. The wheel of FIG. 13 has agradually reduced circumference as one moves from the plane of maximumcircumference toward each edge or axial end of the roller wheel. Theroller wheel in FIG. 13 may be mounted for rotation on an axial shaft(e.g., a bolt 122 and nut 123) carried in a bracket (which may have thedesign of 118) and the bracket then mounted on a rail as desired, or thewheel on an axial shaft may be mounted within the U shape 118 of a railas herein discussed.

[0065] Optionally a reinforcing plate may be employed at the mounting ofthe winch support beam to the stabilizer bar or at other locations.

[0066] An important feature for the ideal practice of the invention isthat of maintaining disassembled parts of the total structure within thetolerance or limits of size that will permit a package size acceptableto most parcel shipping entities such as the United States PostalService, United Parcel Service, Federal Express (Fed-Ex), etc. Theseorganizations specify a maximum weight of 70 pounds per package and amaximum size defined as 108 inches (9 feet) as the maximum length and130 inches for the total of the length plus girth of the package. Thedesign of the new ramp of the invention and the unique arrangement andmounting of the winch support beam contribute mightily to compliancewith the package restrictions of the popular parcel shipmentorganizations, but once in a while an even longer hull-supportingassembly with rails longer than 108 inches or 9 feet may be needed. Anillustrative need for such longer rails can arise where the slope of thesolid earth under water from the shore line is extremely gradual (as inthe case of shallow or tidal shore lines). Under such circumstances, itmay be desirable to have the rails of the ramp extend farther out into abody of water so as to permit loading of floating watercraft on therails at some distance out into the body of water from the shore linewhile the watercraft hull is floating on the body of the water.

[0067] A convenient way to form rails of relatively longer lengths,including lengths in excess of 108 inches or 9 feet, is to connecttogether two rail sections in an end-to-end relationship. Such aconnection and the connecting bracket for it as well as the additionalbase support preferred for it are illustrated in the exploded view ofthe components in FIG. 15. Only one connection between rail sections toform a longer rail need be discussed in detail. A suitable connectingbracket 190 is one of U-shape having internal surfaces that snugly fitthe external surfaces of the U-shaped rails. Rails 16 and 116 are placedtogether with the ends of each section in abutment at a joint and thenthe snug U-shaped connecting bracket 190 is pressed upon the exterior ofthe rails over the joint and secured in position by fasteners such asbolts 191 and 192 that extend through aligned holes of the bracket andrails to nuts 193 and 194. For example, bolt 191 extends through hole196 a of bracket 190, then holes 195 a and 195 b of rail 116, andfinally hole 196 b of connector bracket 190 to nut 193. Similarly, bolt192 extends through hole 198 a of bracket 190, then holes 197 a and 197b of rail 16, and finally hole 198 b of the bracket 190 to nut 194. Asimilar arrangement is provided for rails 18 and 118 united byconnecting bracket 190 a.

[0068] A footprint cross brace support 186 is ideally mounted to theunderside of the connecting brackets 190 and 190 a at a locationproximate to the joint or junction between rail sections.Illustratively, a footprint cross brace support 186 is suitably mountedunder the connecting bracket 190 a by passing a bolt 187 a through holesin the floor of rail 118 and through connector bracket 190 a and plate188 a of footprint cross brace support 186 to nut 189 a. Bolt 187 b withnut 189 b unites the rail 116 and connecting bracket 190 to a plate 188b at the other end of the footprint cross brace 186. The footprint crossbrace 186 at this location may resemble a water end footprint brace, butof course, no keel roller or keel roller brackets are needed for thefootprint cross brace support mounted for support of the abutting endsof rail sections connected together as discussed.

[0069] Additional roller wheels will be distributed along the length ofthe added rail section in a manner comparable to their distribution asafore-discussed; and, of course, the roller wheels at the extended waterend as well as the footprint brace and any keel roller, will all bemounted at the extended water end as afore-described for the water endfeatures.

[0070] The importance of packaging acceptable to popular parcel shippingentities cannot be overemphasized. It permits a manufacturer to haveinventory at a single location and yet be able to effect speedy deliveryof product at acceptable expense to satisfy customer wants almostanywhere.

[0071] The ramp teaching of this invention is ideally made of componentseasily assembled (i.e., mounted) together and easily disassembled(unmounted). Useful components to make up the entire ramp (not includingthe addition of rail sections to create ramps over 9 feet in length) cantotal out at a weight of only about 50 pounds, easily below theallowable weight for fast parcel shipment. The equipment for an addedlength (rails, roller wheels and axles, and footprint cross brace) areeasily packaged in a separate carton.

[0072] Compact packaging of unassembled components is illustrated inFIGS. 16, 17, and 18. The length of the package may vary between 80 and108 inches but is preferably around 96 or 98 inches in length. The widthof package should be kept within bounds and a width of 8 inches orpossibly 10 or even 12 inches and a height of 3, 4, or 5 inches orpossibly 6 inches, easily keeps the external dimensions of the packagein terms of length plus girth (i.e., girth being two times the heightand two times the width) within the limitations of size for parcelshipment by air.

[0073] Corrugated cardboard packaging material is ideal. The packagingmaterial 200 (see FIG. 16) is folded along dash lines as illustrated inFIG. 16 about the contents of the package and the matching parts of thepackaging material are stapled together. Illustrative contents includetwo U-shaped rails 16, 18 of 94 inches in length and having side walls(e.g., 24 and 26) no more than about 3 inches in height from the floorof the rail. These rails are placed together with one side wall of eachrail inserted within the cavity of the other so that each inserted sidewall lies immediately adjacent a side wall of the other rail (see FIGS.17 and 18). Stated another way, a side wall of each U-shaped rail isinterleaved inside the opening of the other so as to place the sidewalls of each rail in juxtaposition, with the floors of the rails spacedfrom each other. In this manner, a cavity 202 within the combined railsis formed. Immediately outside and adjacent one side rail is placed analignment of three major components of the ramp. Those three componentsare the transverse footprint brace 40 (about 18 inches long) at acentral location, a transverse footprint stabilizer bar 50 (about 30 or40 inches long) at an end part of the alignment, and a winch supportbeam 60 (about 40 inches long) at the other end of the alignment. Notethat the bracket flanges 48, 49 for support of the keel roller areoriented outwardly away from the combined rails, and this permits thesmooth side of the footprint brace 40 (or the side having non-projectingelements) to be snugly placed against a side of the combined rails andtaped or strapped snugly by tape 204 against the side. Similarly, thestub elevational means or stub blocks 52, 54 of the footprint stabilizerbar 50 are oriented to extend outwardly away from the combined rails,and this enhances the ability to tape or strap 205, 206 the stabilizerbar against a side of the combined rails. Further, the winch supportbeam 60 is oriented with a side of it against the combined rails andtaped or strapped 207, 208 in position.

[0074] Within the elongated cavity of the combined rails is a space thatis readily usable for inserting other components such as bracing arms70, 71 for the winch support beam, and/or cross braces of angle ironnature. In the event the transverse footprint stabilizer bar for theshore end of the ramp is of a design such as illustrated in FIG. 5(i.e., with hollow interior), the option exists to insert the crossbraces 80 of angle iron nature and even bracing arms for the winchsupport beam into the hollow interior of such a stabilizer bar.

[0075] The winch 64, including its strap or rope and any hook or loopassociated with it, can easily be placed in an enclosure such as in apadded plastic bag (if desired) and fitted within a space between thetransverse footprint brace 40 and winch support beam 60 and be placedsnug against the side of the combined rails, although a removable crankhandle 209 for it can be lodged in almost any crevice location of thepackage. Small items—such as a keel roller and axle for it, a group ofabout 12 or 14 roller wheels and axles for the same, a number of boltsand nuts and washers as needed for assembly, and any instructions forassembly, as well as anything else that might be helpful for assembly ofthe components—are suitably placed in bags or pouches 210, 212 andlodged in the shipping package at any location having sufficient spacefor the same, of which there are many remaining. In fact, the spaceadjacent the outer side of the winch support beam 60 is illustrated asbeing occupied by folded cardboard 214, 216 to maintain a snug conditionfor components in the corrugated cardboard shipping box. (It should benoted that the illustrations of FIGS. 16, 17, and 18 show spacingbetween components; and the reason for the spacing is to give clarity tothe component packaging for each part or component.

[0076] The new watercraft ramp of the invention has great simplicity ofparts and an ideal interrelationship between parts. The result is a rampof not just extraordinary simplicity, but one extremely easy to use, andfast to use, both for docking and launching of watercraft. The slightelevation preferred for the shore end gives comfort for winch use evenwhen exceedingly low angles are chosen for the cantilever of the winchsupport beam. Further, the cantilever of the winch support beam providesa gain for the overall length of the ramp while maintaining minimum raillength as desired for shipping purposes. Roller wheels recessed withinU-shaped rails and the recessed condition for the keel roller within theU-shape for the transverse footprint brace at the water end allow forthe lowest possible profile for the hull-supporting members of thewatercraft-supporting assembly.

[0077] Further, those skilled in the art will readily recognize thatthis invention may be embodied in still other specific forms thanillustrated without departing from the spirit or essentialcharacteristics of it. The illustrated embodiments are therefore to beconsidered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive, the scopeof the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than theforegoing description, and all variations that come within the meaningand range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to beembraced thereby.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A watercraft ramp comprising: (i) awatercraft-supporting assembly having a pair of rails of substantialequal length braced in parallel laterally spaced-apart relationship bycross braces so that said rails are separated at least 8 inches apartfrom each other, said watercraft-supporting assembly having one endcalled a water end and the other end called a shore end, (ii) a waterend support assembly having a transverse footprint brace mounted to theunderside of said rails at a location proximate to said water end, (iii)a shore end support assembly having a transverse footprint stabilizerbar mounted to the underside of said rails at a location proximate tosaid shore end in a manner such that said mounting is inward from theouter ends of said stabilizer bar, said transverse stabilizer bar beingsuch that it has a greater transverse length than the lateral spacingdistance between said rails, and (iv) a loading assembly for drawing awatercraft onto said watercraft-supporting assembly.
 2. The ramp ofclaim 1 wherein said water end of each said rail is equipped with aroller wheel so mounted that a portion of the circumference of each saidwater end roller wheel projects outward beyond the water end of saidrails as well as upward above the water end of said rails.
 3. The rampof claim 1 wherein the distance between the underside of said rails andthe underside of said transverse footprint brace at said water end isless than the distance between the underside of said rails and the topof said roller wheels at said water end.
 4. The ramp of claim 1 whereinthe distance between the underside of said rails and the underside ofsaid transverse footprint brace of said water end is less than thedistance between the underside of said rails and the underside of saidtransverse footprint stabilizer bar of said shore end.
 5. The ramp ofclaim 1 wherein said water end support assembly additionally includes akeel roller mounted on said footprint brace at a central locationbetween said rails so that at least a portion of the circumference ofsaid keel roller projects above said footprint brace.
 6. The ramp ofclaim 1 wherein said loading assembly includes a winch support beamnon-pivotally mounted at said shore end so as to cantilever out beyondthe shore end of said rails in an angular relationship to the length ofsaid rails.